Jobox, a startup that helps tradespeople like locksmiths, electricians and plumbers find jobs, hired 50 employees in the wake of its recent $42 million funding round.
The Aventura-based firm connects companies with 5,600 vetted professionals through its artificial intelligence-powered platform. Founded by CEO Shay Bloch and COO Kaushik Pendurthi, Jobox reports it has already processed more than $1 billion in transactions.
Jobox is targeting the $595 billion home services industry, which has grappled with a severe labor shortage in recent years. But there's still plenty of demand from consumers searching for maintenance and repair services.
"Consumers are looking for pros online, but the majority of them are still working with pen and paper," Bloch said. "They don't have the proper tools in place to grow their business on the internet and have to rely on lead generation companies and middlemen that take most of their profit."
After a consumer sends in a request for a job, Joblox's algorithm analyzes the details and dispatches the request to a trade professional based on factors like their experience and availability. On the other side, the criteria can help tradespeople optimize their workday by matching them with convenient jobs based on their schedule and location.
Personal experience led to the creation of Jobox, Bloch said.
It started in 2016, when his cousin and co-founder Moshe Levi was working as a locksmith in Miami. He reached out to Bloch for advice about software he should use to manage accounting, payments and other areas of his business. But traditional software like Square and Quickbooks wasn't what he was looking for. Instead, he wanted an all-in-one-app that would manage everything he needed to keep his business running.
"It was clear that an app designed for skilled trade workers could change the lives of millions of pros in South Florida and across the country," he told the Business Journal.
Although he started the company in San Francisco, Bloch said Jobox's first 200 customers were actually based in South Florida. That, combined with his desire to establish an in-person company culture, convinced him to move its headquarters to Aventura. The office has 60 employees working in operations, engineering, marketing, sales and more.
Now Jobox, available in 39 states, aims to expand to the rest of the U.S. Eventually, Jobox will match professionals with training resources and allow them to connect with peers from across the country to share resources, Bloch said.
"We’re here to make it easier for pros to run their business, so they have more time and energy for the things that make them scale and grow," he added.
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